Flappy Bird developer pulls hit iOS game because it was 'too addictive'

THE DEVELOPER of hit iPhone game Flappy Bird has pulled the app from the iTunes and Google Play stores, saying he "cannot take it" anymore.

For those of you who have been living in a hole for the past fortnight, Flappy Bird is an addictively frustrating iOS and Android game, where you have to navigate a bird through Mario-style pipes without hitting them and dying.

Despite Flappy Bird having risen to the top of Apple's and Google's respective app stores, the app's developer has had enough. We're not sure what Dong Nguyen, the game's developer, has had enough off exactly, but he tweeted on Saturday that he would take down the app over the weekend, despite making $50,000 a day on ad revenues from the game.

He added that the problem was "nothing to do with legal issues" and said that he had no plans to sell Flappy Bird.

Nguyen was true to his word, and Flappy Bird disappeared from the iTunes App Store and Google Play store on Sunday evening.

There has been speculation that the game was pulled due to the large amount of hate mail Nguyen received, with some claiming that he stole the idea from other applications. There's also talk that it comes following a large number of Flappy Bird copycats arriving in the App Store, but it's likely that we will never know the truth.

While some shrugged off the news, others looked to cash in, with iPhones with Flappy Bird installed promptly appearing on auction website eBay with some eye-watering asking prices. At time of writing, there is a Flappy Bird-equipped iPhone 5 on eBay that's going for over $80,000. Instead of splashing $80,000 on a second-hand iPhone, of course, Flappy Bird fans can still get their hands on the game via other routes.

Some people, it's fair to say, haven't taken the news of Flappy Bird's demise so well, as you can see in the tweets below.

@dongatory YOU BEST NOT BE DELETING FLAPPY BIRD BECAUSE I WILL MURDER YOU IF U DO😡😡😡😡😡

Flappy Bird is still available to those who have already installed it on their iOS or Android devices, but apparently Ngyen won't support the game any further.

RIP Flappy Bird. Sniff.

UpdateNguyen has spilled the beans as to why the app was removed, claiming it's because the app is too addictive. Speaking to Forbes, he said, "Flappy Bird was designed to play in a few minutes when you are relaxed.

"But it happened to become an addictive product. I think it has become a problem. To solve that problem, it’s best to take down Flappy Bird. It’s gone forever." µ